Swimming pool

ABSTRACT

A SWIMMING POOL FORMED OF PLATES OF LIGHT WEIGHT METAL SUCH AS ALUMINUM. THE WALLS OF THE POOL ARE FORMED OF ELEMENTS WHICH ARE CONCAVE VIS A VIS THE INTERIOR OF THE POOL AND HAVE NO CONVENTIONAL SPLASH CHANNELS BUT INSTEAD ARE PROVIDED WITH A PERIPHERAL PORTION EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE TOP OF THE WALLS WHICH INCLUDE SPACED APART INVERTED U-SHAPED BEAMS WITH GRIDS THEREBETWEEN FOR RECEIVING SPLASH-OVER WATER THE INNERMOST INVERTED U-SHAPED BEAM FORMS THE EDGE OF THE POOL WHICH COINCIDES WITH THE LEVEL OF WATER IN THE POOL WHEN IT IS FILLED.

Ma 2 5, 1971 REGEBRQ ET AL 3,579,666

SWIMMING POOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 21, 1969 y 25, 1971 E. T. L. REGEBRO ETAL 3,579,666

SWIMMING POOL Filed Jan. 21, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet z N I s2 13 G.

//VV[/V7UP EBBE ToRsTEN LEONARD RE EBRO ET AL (av/MW, ,zw D I u l United States Patent 3,579,666 SWIMMIYG POOL Ebbe Torsten Leonard Regebro, Lunnagardsvagen 15, and Karl-010i Pettersson, Engagatan 50, both of Alvesta, Sweden Filed Jan. 21, 1969, Ser. No. 792,609 Claims priority, applicaltigglsweden, Jan. 31, 1968,

Int. (:1. been 3/16 US. Cl. 4-172-19 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a swimming pool formed of plates of light weight material.

Hitherto, it was normal procedure to build large swimming pools designed to be used by large numbers of people in the form of internally tiled reinforced concrete shell. In such swimming pools, the surface of the water is generally lower than the edge of the pool. The water level is regulated in such swimming pools by means of a weir formed in a splash channel in the pool.

Swimming pools of this kind though entirely serviceable have considerable disadvantages. In order to make such reinforced concrete swimming pools, stable heavy reinforcing is needed and the pool must be sunk into the ground, which often requires a reinforced base or compression of the foundation because of the immense weight of the pool structure even before any water is introduced thereto. Special arrangements were made to ensure that people entering the pool from the surroundings do not pollute it, for example, by introducing sand or earth which has adhered to their feet.

It is also known to construct swimming pools using primarily prefabricated steel or lightweight alloy elements. By using steel, it is of course possible to achieve comparatively high stability in a finished swimming pool but there is no substantial saving in weight or cost.

A saving in weight can be achieved by using aluminium or lightweight alloys but in the known designs of this sort it has been found necessary to increase the stability of the structure by reinforcing arrangements or external supporting structures of different kinds, so that these designs are thus rendered substantially more expensive.

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a swimming pool which is simple in design and construction and which elements are generally commercially available. Accordingly the cost of manufacture is reduced.

A further object is the provision of a pool which is light when compared with conventional designs which use reinforced concrete or steel. Despite its lightness, the present swimming pool is sufficiently stable to be selfsupporting' and watertight even when completely filled. Further, additional supporting structures are largely unnecessary which simplifies the installation of a swimming pool. Also it is easy to check whether a swimming pool in accordance with the invention is watertight simply by filling it with water prior to final installation.

Another object of the invention is that the level of the water in the pool, when it is filled, coincides with the edge of the pool. There are many advantages of this feature, one is that the total depth of the pool may be reduced by virtue of the fact that conventional sunken splash channels, which determined water level, may be eliminated. Further, waves in the pool are dampened because there are no vertical wave-reflecting surfaces above the natural water level. A further advantage of this feature is the reduction of the risk of injury by diving or slipping. Also, supervision of such a pool is enhanced by the fact that the whole of the pool interior can be seen from the surroundings without known obstructions.

A further advantage of the instant invention is the washing effect due to the provision of Wash-over and discharge through the grid which effects foot-washing in a virtually automatic way. In this regard the provision of two external frames and a pair of discharge grids are particularly suitable.

The present invention consists in a swimming pool formed of plates of light weight material comprising: a base, walls extending upwards from the base, and a peripheral portion extending outwardly from the top of the walls, the edge of the pool coinciding with the level of water in the pool when the pool is filled, and overflow means disposed in the top surface of the peripheral portion for receiving splash-over from the pool.

Preferably, wherein the walls of the pool are formed of elements which are concave vis a vis the interior of the pool and include flanges outwardly directed from the interior of the pool, which are welded to the outwardly directed flanges of adjacent elements.

Preferably, wherein the edge of the pool is formed by a first inverted U-shaped beam disposed on the top surface of the peripheral portion, and a second inverted U-shaped beam is disposed on the top surface of the peripheral portion outwardly of the first inverted U- shaped beam, and the overflow means is disposed between the two U-shaped beams.

Preferably, wherein the walls are supported on an inverted U-shaped frame with outwardly directed flanges.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a section through a wall of a swimming pool in accordance with the invention, and includes a partial view of the adjacent bottom section and base, and a top section;

FIG. 2 shows a section of the swimming pool shown in FIG. 1 along the line II-II of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a longitudinal section through a swimming pool according to the invention.

A swimming pool is provided with a suitable bottom frame 1 which rests upon a gravel foundation. The frame is constructed of lengths of U-section beam open in the downward direction and equipped with outward extending flanges. The bight of the U-shaped section is substantially fiat; alternatively the beams may have a so- 6. A swimming pool as claimed in claim 5 wherein the overflow means includes a grid or grill disposed between the first and the second and the second and the third inverted U-shaped beams.

7. A swimming pool as claimed in claim 6 wherein discharge pipes are connected to the overflow means for conducting splash-over water to a water purification plant.

8. A swimming pool as claimed in claim 7 wherein the top surface of the peripheral portion is non-slip.

9. A swimming bath as claimed in claim 1 wherein the walls are supported on an inverted U-shaped frame with outwardly directed flanges.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,864,098 12/1958 Lormar 4172 2,871,521 2/1959 Messmore 52-630X 6 2,932,397 4/1960 Ogden 4172.17X 2,982,970 5/1961 Kennedy 4-172.18 3,315,278 4/1967 Schatski et a1 4172.19 3,319,264 5/1967 Scarano 4172.17 3,432,867 3/1969 Whitten, Jr. 4--172.17 3,445,866 5/1969 Shields 4--172.19

FOREIGN PATENTS 228,448 7/1963 Austria 4-172 1,045,706 10/1966 Great Britain 4-172 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 4l72.18 

